No heroes, many villains in Phoenixville eminent domain dispute

“Eminent domain” is a nasty phrase in the towns and townships of our region.

The notion that government can take our land and tell us what they plan to pay for it is reprehensible. Land ownership is a matter of pride, bought with hard-earned dollars or passed through sacred generations of family.

So it is no wonder that the recent vote by the Phoenixville Area School Board to start the eminent domain process to buy the Meadow Brook Golf Club land for construction of a new elementary school and early learning center has raised a ruckus, spurred protests, and turned last week’s school board reorganization into a rambunctious display of meeting-run-amok.

At the loudest part of the action is the Citizens for Liberty organization which is protesting the process of eminent domain on the basis of principle, not because the loss of the golf course affects their lives. Local group organizer Steve Piotrowski, of Lower Providence, and his brother Adam, were at the Phoenixville Area School Board meeting last Monday night to voice objections but were stopped because board policy reserves the public comment period for those who live and work in the district.

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Some of the protest comments, particularly by the Citizens for Liberty group members, have been acerbic and fraught with conspiracy theories. In comparison, objections raised by golf club members and district residents about the loss of the recreational and historic value of the golf course have been more reasoned. We understand that some in the community would prefer to see the site remain a scenic golf course rather than be torn apart for school construction.

The owners of the course itself give a dubious impression. School board members, as well as district administrators, say the Campbell and Brown families are willing sellers.

In fact, the school district says the owners approached the district about selling the course, and the dispute is on price. The owners want $8 million for the land; the district has offered $5 million. The district has pegged the current appraisal at $3.725 million.

Board member Betsy Ruch pointed out Monday that if the district used taxpayer funds to pay $8 million for a parcel of land valued at $3.7 million, board actions would inspire a different protest from taxpayers challenging the fiduciary responsibility to residents.

School board President Joshua Gould said again on Monday that the Meadow Brook owners came to the board looking for a buyer. But the owners and their friends have said in media interviews that they are not willing sellers. At Monday night’s meeting, neither Bruce Campbell, the supervisor owner of the golf course, nor family matriarch Joanne Campbell Brown nor her son Peter Brown spoke publicly, though all were in attendance.

Despite all the diatribe surrounding the issue, there was no vote taken Monday. The board is not scheduled to meet again this year, meaning there will likely be no action before the 30-day waiting period ends and the district takes control of the property.

Whether the dispute continues beyond that point remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, every side is a little bit at fault in this twisted process. Although the board had previously discussed negotiations to buy the golf club, which sits adjacent to the Phoenixville Area Middle School campus, it appeared those talks had broken off and the district had moved its interest to other sites. The 7-2 vote on Nov. 14 was not listed on the agenda as an eminent domain authorization or as a proposal regarding Meadow Brook.

Hence, opponents said they were blind sided. Board members and administrators say the board was taking the next logical step to acquire land for the East Pikeland Elementary School project; opponents say what the board was taking was private land.

The board members portray themselves as watchdogs of taxpayer money. Opponents claim them to be thieves in the night. And then there are the Citizens for Liberty members staging protests in the community and at board members’ homes claiming the action is another example of a government plot to control our lives.

It seems everyone involved is using public perception of eminent domain -- valuable or evil, depending on your point of view -- to further their own agendas.

Eminent domain is a difficult issue for any community, and Phoenixville now finds itself dealing with that difficulty.